=============================================================================== Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf Weapon Guide by The_Pup (VideoGB150@msn.com) Version: 1.1 =============================================================================== ========== Contents ========== 1. Intro and Updates 2. Legend 3. Energy Weapons 4. Ballistic Weapons 5. Missile Weapons 6. Special/Misc Weapons 7. Defensive Measures and Special Abilities 8. Strategies and Tips 9. FAQ 10. Credits 11. Legal ========== 1. Intro and Updates ========== I am writing this guide for the good of all players. This is SPOILER FREE and is based off of playing experiences. No hacking or glitches were used in the making of this guide. This guide is based around the weapons in Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf. As in the last Mechassault game, you have a choice of mechs to play. And with most of these mechs they come standard, normally, with 3 weapons. A laser, a shell gun, and a missile launcher. Of course, with the exception of several other mechs which had two weapons. And Mechassault 2 expands on these weapons. Some you may remember from the last game and several are entirely new to the series and this guide is to help you sort out which weapons are best suited for you and which ones you should avoid either when using against your opponents or having your opponents use against you. But this is a reference guide, and I don't expect anyone to follow my recommendations. ---------- Updates--- ---------- Ver 1.1--- Legal restrictions and redistribution policy lightened. ---------- Minor fixes. Ver 1.0--- Got information for the Flare weapon from D man ---------- Placed Alpha Strike in the Special/Misc weapons ---------- Corrected some spelling errors ---------- Redone the spacing in the structure of the weapon descriptions Ver 0.8--- Added Tip from Stormy ---------- Added Tips ---------- Added missing information about Ragnarok/Ymir shield ---------- Added weapon that needs information("Flare") ---------- Ver 0.7--- Added Tip from SKullKrusher9 ---------- Added Tips from James Roth ---------- Added Credits section ---------- Several corrections by Dahak ---------- Changed Double Tabs into 12 spaces ========== 2. Legend ========== Name : Name of the weapon Range : Recommended range to use the weapon Power : General power(damage dealing) the weapon is capable of Speed : How fast the projectiles travel Reload : How quick can you fire again Homing : Any homing capabilities that are provided Description: A short description of the weapon Strategy : General recommended use of the weapon Notes : Extra information on the info that you may need to know. ========== 3. Energy Weapons ========== Energy weapons are normally the main weapons you will use on your mech. They do alot of damage yet they will overheat your mech quickly. Name : Pulse Laser Range : Short-medium Power : Weak Speed : Fast Reload : Fast Homing : None Description: Little green laser pulses that fire fairly quickly. Red on level 2, purple on level 3. Speed is drastically increased on level 3 yet the power is less than on level 2. Strategy : Use on light mechs and turrets. Circle strafing is a must. Notes : Last ditch weapon. Unless your mech comes with 3 or 4 of these, don't use them. Only use them to finish off opponents with low health if there aren't any powerups around. Still a reliable weapon if you can track targets. Name : Pulse Laser(VTOL, Battle Armor exclusive) Range : Medium-long Power : Medium Speed : Fast Reload : Fast Homing : None Description: Only when you are a Battle Armor attatched to a VTOL can use this. It's a support weapon. Strategy : Fire at any opponent that poses a threat to you. Notes : Not very useful unless you like to support your allies. Name : Laser Range : Medium-long Power : Medium Speed : Medium Reload : Medium Homing : Slight description: Fires a beam of energy at opponents. Better than Pulse lasers and the same level colors apply. Strategy : Use it to take down or soften up opponents from a distance. Notes : Nova Cat has 5 of these on it and they deal massive damage. You can level heavy mechs within 15 seconds if using Nova Cat's Lasers. Name : PPC(Particle Projectile Cannon) Range : Medium-long Power : Weak-Heavy(variable) Speed : Slow Reload : Fast-long(variable) Homing : Heavy Description: PPCs are strange weapons. You hold down the trigger to power up a charge and you lock onto an opponent and then release to fire your bolt. Increased levels make the bolt look more fearsome and bigger. Strategy : If you suspect something is around the corner charge this up to get an attack advantage. Note that PPCs overheat fast... Notes : If you hold it for a prolonged period of time the aiming reticle will start flashing yellow and then your PPCs will 'flare out.' If you let go when the reticle is flashing yellow the bolt will show some lightning eye-candy when it travels. Name : Plasma PPC(Blood Asp and Star Adder assault mech exclusive) Range : Medium-long Power : Medium-Heavy Speed : Slow-medium Reload : Fast Homing : Heavy Description: Just a quicker and more rapid-fire version of the PPC. Though it bears the same name, it is a completely different weapon when you fire it. I dubb it "Purple death" ever since seeing a Blood Asp in grinder fire several bolts at me at once. It fires purple globs that have similar homing ability to the PPC. When it impacts it explodes into a big mess of purple peices which may obscure vision in multiplayer. Just like the PPC when it levels up, the purple plasma will get bigger and look more intimidating along with more plasma-splash pieces. Strategy : Pepper opponents with these and be extra careful to not overheat your mech. Notes : Only used on the Blood Asp and Star Adder assault mechs in pairs. Just because it's a PPC doesn't mean that charging it up is the same. You have to fully charge it up if you want to fire. Name : Gravity Cannon(Rommel Mk 2 tank exclusive) Range : Medium-long Power : Medium Speed : Medium Reload : Medium Homing : None Description: Just think of this as a Gauss Cannon that uses energy. The trail is amber-colored and it fires fairly quickly using alternating cannons. It comes with a Zoom view for snipers. Strategy : Use it to take out distanced targets using the zoom view. If facing a mech, use the zoom view and fire at the legs to trip them. Notes : Aim at the legs! Aim at the legs! Aim at the legs! Then pummel them when they fall. It's only for the Rommel Mk 2 tank so this is the better choice between it's two weapons. ========== 4. Ballistic Weapons ========== These are usually fallback weapons or pre-attack. They don't generate as much heat as with missiles or energy weapons yet their damage/reload times might be a hinder. You should use them if you have overheated your mech and need some weapon to keep on giving damage while you recover. Name : Machine Gun Range : Short-medium Power : Weak Speed : Fast Reload : Fast Homing : None Description: Fires small rounds of bullets at enemies. Strategy : Same as pulse laser. Use to finish off small/weak opponents. Notes : Use it only if your mech has more than two. Name : Autocannon Range : Medium-long Power : Medium-heavy Speed : Very Fast Reload : Medium Homing : None Description: Fires rifle-like rounds. It's power is determined by how far the rounds travel. It does spread away from where it's going a little. Just fire it off and watch the sparks. Higher levels present more chances that enemy mechs will be knocked off their feet. Strategy : Use it to soften up targets. Mechs might fall when hit. Notes : These are only useful if you have 2 or more. The Wendigo has 5 on it and it makes for a nice shotgun style weapon. Name : Gauss Rifle Range : Long Power : Heavy Speed : Very Fast Reload : Slow Homing : None Description: Fires a metal slug, best to think of this as a sniper rifle. It has a signature blue trail that gets larger when it levels up. Along with the damage bonus when the Gauss Rifle levels up it has more of a chance of knocking enemy mechs off their feet. Strategy : Use this against anything. It's damage is good and is equipped on several mechs. If a mech falls to the ground either pound it with the Gauss or switch to a faster firing(or more powerful) weapon to conserve the ammo you may have. Notes : There can only be a max of two Gauss Rifles on a mech. ========== 5. Missile Weapons ========== Missiles are very powerful either damage wise or in just sheer numbers. You can use them for almost any kind of role. Missiles, however, generate massive amounts of heat, so don't use them too much without cooling down. Name : Crossbow Short-Range Missile(SRM) Range : Short Power : Weak-medium Speed : Fast Reload : Fast Homing : Heavy Description: These fire fast and can lock onto targets that are at a short range to home in on them. Though be careful not to lock onto targets that are too close and are below you. Level 2 you get two times more Crossbow SRMs firing off at once and on level 3 you fire 3 times more missiles. Strategy : Missile spam opponents who are hard to hit. Notes : Best against light mechs or against heavy mechs if using a hit and run strategy. You can target multiple enemies. Name : Hammer Missile(aka Warhammer) Range : Short-medium Power : Very Heavy Speed : Very Slow Reload : Slow Homing : None Description: A strange missile. You charge up its detonation timer and then fire it at a mech. It's really powerful. Just make sure you aren't too close to the target. The strange thing about it is that it actually sticks to the enemy vehicles and land objects until it explodes. Level 2 the rocket trail is red and on level 3 the rocket trail is green. Strategy : Use this if you have your opponent against the wall or in a narrow bottleneck and get away. You can also have it prematurely detonate if you don't have the timer fully charged. Notes : The max amount any mech can have of these babies is 2. Yet 1 is all you need to take out a heavy mech in a half a minute. Name : Javelin Long-Range Missile(LRM) Range : Long Power : Medium-heavy Speed : Slow-medium Reload : Slow-medium Homing : Medium Description: Fires long range missiles that are slow but have some good homing capability. Level 2 has yellow flare and level 3 has a red flare. Strategy : Use for long distance attacks against groups. Notes : Easy to dodge at any distance. You can only have up to four of this weapon on any mech. Best to not use these unless the target is stationary and/or very far away. Name : POV Missile(Guided, turret exclusive) Range : Long Power : Heavy Speed : Slow-fast Reload : Medium Homing : None(guided) Description: Guided shells. You steer them just like any mech only that you can only go forward and you are in the view of the missile. Strategy : Only sneak into this when you have a target you want to kill. Otherwise you would not like how a battle would turn out against mechs. Notes : You should NOT BE USING THIS FOR ANY REASON unless you need to play a supporting role or on an event. You should slow down and then speed up for moving targets or just speed up completely to hit distanced targets. POV Missile controls are as follows: ====POV Missile Controls========================================== == + L-stick up and down to speed up and slow down respectively. == + R-stick to aim. == + L-trigger to detonate prematurely. ================================================================== Name : Mortar(Battle Armor exclusive) Range : Varied Power : Heavy Speed : Medium Reload : Fast Homing : None Description: The strangest weapon ever. The higher you aim the farther your shot goes. The weapon also uses pressure sensitivity. The farther you pull back the R-trigger the longer the distance you fire. There is, however, a blue trail that can be traced back to you. Strategy : Use this to bombard enemies from cover and to fire over most, if not all, obstructions. You can fire off of buildings if you turn 180 degrees when you are attatched with the claw for surprise attacks against mechs. Notes : Not a very good weapon if you want to be accurate. Just make sure you use this in conjunction with the Battle Armor's Jumpjet speed. ========== 6. Special/Misc Weapons ========== These are just other weapons that don't fit into any other category. They are usually fun weapons that have strategic use. Name : Pilot Bombs Range : n/a Power : Medium-heavy Speed : n/a Reload : n/a Homing : n/a Description: Think of these as a kind of land mine. You get out of your mech, fire to set one down and run away. FAR away. Strategy : Lay them down someplace and hide in a place where you can see your Bomb. Then remote detonate them to do lots of damage. They will automatically explode if a vehicle/mech steps on it or stays next to the bomb for five seconds. Notes : These create one hell of a distraction when placed next to some buildings and remote detonated. Just be sure there's a mech ready just in case there are some 'technical difficulties.' Be aware that the explosion radius is very, very large. Name : Flamethrower Range : Short Power : Very weak(heats up enemy mechs while doing damage) Speed : Slow Reload : Continuous Homing : None Description: A flamethrower. It overheats both you and your enemy's mech, thus not allowing them to use weapons. This is good if you have a friend to finish off your enemy while you hold them. Strategy : Get close, fire, and hope your friend can save your ass before you overheat. Notes : Very fun weapon. Just don't get too used to it as it overheats your mech just as much as your enemy's. Name : Lava Cannon(Ragnarok and Ymir assault mech exclusive) Range : Short-medium Power : Very Heavy Speed : Slow Reload : Slow Homing : None Description: Fires three Hammer Missile-resembling projectiles that are red and very, very powerful if all three hit. They explode on impact. Strategy : Get something trapped and into a bottleneck and watch the light show. Just be sure to use this moderately since it tends to over- heat your mech quickly. Notes : Not a very good weapon for distance, it's best used on groups since the Lava balls do carry along some good splash damage. You could use it to level buildings that could be used for cover by enemy mechs, although that might work against you. Name : Flares(name unknown, seen only on Hellbringer) Range : Close-Medium Power : Medium Speed : Slow-Medium Reload : Medium Homing : Medium Description: A flare-looking projectile that makes a hissing sound when fired. The range is slightly longer than that of the flame thrower. It creates a small amount of heat and also heats up your opponent. Strategy : Use it just like a Laser. Notes : Fairly short ranged. Found on Hellbringers in pairs. Hellbringer mechs are only found on the single player mission "I Hate Snakes." Thanks to D Man for the information. Name : Alpha Strike(found only on Heavy and Assault mechs) Range : Close-Medium Power : Extremely Heavy Speed : Very Slow Reload : none(one time use) Homing : Medium Description: A pulsating ball of light. It acts like a PPC where you hold the fire button to charge and release. Very slow. Able to kill many light mechs in one hit, or heavily damage stronger mechs. This weapon will overheat your mech to the max and level down all your weapons to level 1. Strategy : Fire and hope it hits. Notes : You need all of your weapons to become level 3. There is no reload time. The reload time is only limited to how fast you can charge all your weapons to level 3 by picking up powerups. This weaponn can only be selected once all weapons are level 3. Specific info on the Alpha Strike can be found in the Defensive Measures and Special Abilities section of this FAQ. ========== 7. Defensive Measures and Special Abilities ========== Defensive measures are actions activated by the click of the R-stick. I am including them in this weapons guide because they can prevent or lessen the extent of damage caused by weapons and provide extended strategic options. Yet there are some abilities that are a bit different in activation that I will also list here. Defensive Armor Mods(DAM) These armors provide decreases most damage against certain weapon types. There are only 2 mods currently: Reflective and Reactive. (thanks for the corrections Dahak) Reactive Armor DAM(Yellow aura) Decreases damage caused by ballistic weapons. Not missiles or special weapons. Reflective Armor DAM(Blue aura) Decreases damage caused by energy weapons. Not missiles or special weapons. Active AMS(Anti-Missile System) Destroys most missile-based weaponry and prevents splash damage. POV Missiles, Hammer Missiles, and Mortars are unaffected. Doesn't affect PPCs or Plasma PPCs either. Target Jamming Screws up enemy radar and prevents enemies from locking on. Null Signature Makes your mech invisible. If you fire weapons or generate heat, you mech will be shown. Another affect is that if you are invisible you cannot be seen on enemy radar. Perfect for snipers and flag runners. Pink Shield Only found on Ragnarok and Ymir. This is probably their best, and only, option for defense. It sets up a pink(some say pink, some say purple) shield around the mech that stays up for about 3 seconds before shutting down. When this shield is on the mech you are using is practically invincible. If you turn on the shields and a Warhammer missile hits it, the warhead will stop in midair and float. (but be sure to take a few steps away) This is very useful in battles against several smaller mechs and mechs that rely on missiles and energy weapons. This seems to be unchanged from the first Mechassault game. Jumpjets Some mechs have these and some don't. This is vitally important to the Battle Armor. It's jets triggered by clicking the L-stick and holding it. You can use this to move from building to building or to dodge missiles/get around some obstacles. You can also use them to peek over walls and fire off shots or to soften a fall. NeuroHacking(aka stealing, jacking, etc.) Only for the Battle Armor. If you Jumpjet next to an enemy mech and use your claw you will attatch to their back. You then have to press some given buttons in order to eject the pilot. Once you've done so you will be able to use that mech. Note that you can be fought off by the pilot. Alpha Strike(Several assault mechs) If you have Level 3 energy weapons, ballistic weapons, and missiles you are given the option to use Alpha Strike. Yes, I said Level 3 on ALL of the weapons on your mech. One you've got Level 3 on all weapons, you are notified that you can use Alpha Strike. You basically use it as a weapon, using L-trigger to cycle to and from it and R-trigger to charge and fire it just like a Plasma PPC although it takes alot longer to charge up. It takes around 8 to 10 seconds to charge up. After you do, lock onto a target and fire. It will send a huge ball of death to greet whatever is in your sights. It's able to kill some medium mechs in one hit and several grouped up light mechs since the blast radius is somewhat large. There are only two downsides: 1) Your mech is overheated to the max for 4 seconds and 2) All your weapons will be downgraded to level 1. But the tradeoff is worth it if you are in a losing battle and want to even the odds. Although you better hope you don't miss. ========== 8. Strategies and Tips ========== There is some strategies you should learn if you want to play, in order to stay alive in multiplayer and campaign. Send an email if you have any more to add to this section: VideoGB150@msn.com Circle strafing You strave to the right and look to the left(and vice versa) around a target to keep the target object inside the crosshairs. This is a basic technique that is useful in open areas. It is useful on VTOLs and smaller, faster mechs. Use the environment to your advantage. You should use cover if you ever want to be a successful player. Hiding behind buildings or using terrain to hinder your opponents movement can be effective in slowing down a war machine. Lighter mechs, especially the Battle Armor, are very versitile. You should use the Battle Armor's claw to hook to the sides of buildings for surprise attacks and use its jumpjets to climb and jump over obstacles. Heat Meter Watch the heat meter on the left side of the screen. You should try to keep the bars to under 50% heat most of the time. Otherwise you may find yourself overheated and unable to use weapons. To avoid so, switch out your missile or energy weapons for ballistic weapons and retreat until you find the heat meter is at an acceptable level. Jacking Tips When you jack enemy mechs, make sure you either make a mad dash to them or sneak up on them when in Battle Armor. Don't do it in a firefight unless you are double teaming someone. If you jack a mech and decide to take it, get in and step on your Battle Armor to prevent the other players from jacking you. Don't try jacking people if they have a blue DAM aura or yellow DAM aura. (thanks for the correction Dahak) Anti-Jacking Tips If you have a DAM system and you are being hacked or think you are about to be, just activate your DAM system and it will prevent you being hacked and eject anyone who is trying to hack you. Don't always rush for health (submitted by SKullKrusher9@aol.com) "Don't always rush for health if you see it. Lets say you just fought a Light/Medium class mech and you only lost 2-3 bars of health. Only get it if your health is around the middle or lower. If you then take it when your health is only about 1 bar lost and a Heavy Class mech comes, you will be dominated." Anti-Jacking, watching each other's back (submitted by james_roth@hotmail.com) "If you have a friend in a power armour use the claw on a friends mech he can act as a turret and prevent others from jacking the mech." Pilot Minefield (submitted by james_roth@hotmail.com) "Also the piolet mines can be set infront of a base (one per piolet) and act asproixy mines to soften up lighter mechs easly to help defend a base in the base wars mode." Running full speed with boosters (submitted by Stormy, einhander@tmail.com) "I figured out a way to get full speed when driving a mech with boosters. Simply u boost enough to get a little bit in the air, then you drop to the ground and then you're at full running speed again." Using the environment to your OPPONENT'S disadvantage Some players don't know this, but standing on or under a bridge during a battle is the worst thing anyone can do. Once that bridge is destroyed, any mechs that are under or on the bridge are heavily damaged/destroyed. Also, don't stand on or be touching a building when it topples as it will produce the same effect as a bridge. What you should do is heavily damage buildings and bridges with extra gunfire so that you can destroy them when an opponent is on/near/under them for some really painful results. Pilot bombs are particularly useful for this sort of thing as you can remote detonate them or just leave them in the middle of the bridge, waiting for some mech to step on them. Aim for the legs! When you lock onto an opponent, all the guns you fire will instantly track the torso of the opponent, not the legs. It's a little known fact that the legs of mechs have MUCH weaker armour than the torso. But it's a pain just to try and hit the legs. There are only four weapons capable of attacking the legs. First up are Pilot bombs, they are placed at ground level and do heavy damage because they attack the legs. Second is the Gravity Cannon, if used with the sniper scope, can attack the legs. Third comes the powerful Warhammer, where you can aim at the ground near where your opponent's moving and have the timing right, blow up/stick onto their legs. Lastly is the Mortar on the Battle Armour. It's very strong and it doesn't lock onto targets. Attacking the legs can be very devastating, so try to use this tactic whenever you can. ========== 9. FAQ ========== Q: How long did it take you to make this FAQ? A: Two days worth of playing and writing and playing. That's about 3 after I got this game. I will update occasionally. Q: Do yo have XBOX Live? A: No, not yet. Probably never will. Q: What's your favorite Mech? A: In Mechassault 1 it used to be the Bowman(I think, was it the one with the dual Warhammers?) and the Uziel or anything with dual Gauss Rifles. In Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf, I love the Battle Armor, the Nova Cat, and the Wendigo for their 5x of Lasers, 5x of Autocannons, and jacking ability. Also because they are versitile. Q: Why don't you have ? A: I don't have XBOX Live, and therefore I cannot download the special mechs that are on there. Please, don't spam me with flames. Most of this guide is aimed towards offline gameplay and has weapons/abilites that you will use throughout single player and system-link/splitscreen multiplayer. Q: Can I use place this guide on my website or in my FAQ or copy something from it? A: Yes, you can now. Just zoom down to the legal below. ========== 10. Credits ========== SKullKrusher9@aol.com - For a useful tip on when to get health. Dahak(dahak@chartermi.net) - Several corrections for the DAMs and jacking James Roth(james_roth@hotmail.com) - Tips on anti-jacking and Pilot Minefield Stormy(einhander@tmail.com) - Tip on running with mechs with boosters D Man(DEBRADAHWAH@aol.com) - Gotten information on Flares and Hellbringer ========== 11. Legal ========== Readers may reproduce, redistribute, correct and laugh at this document and information within. Optional courtesy to credit this FAQ, the users who contributed to this FAQ (under Credits) and to enjoy life.